@kastein
HAH! Good news have I got, indeed. Turns out I met a long-lost buddy, who used to operate with my unit, within a detachment of very interesting people (ahem). He has his own shop, and nearly had a fit when I mentioned I didn't have a place to do my XJ conversion. Need to finish a project so the shop has room for the XJ. What project, did you ask? Well...
Last weekend helped him to finish his modded vehicle. Body and chassis of a honest-to-god, soft-top, '77 Toyota FJ40 ( a/k/a Land Cruiser, a/k/a Bandeirantes, a/k/a Macho ), which had already 1.5ton axles modified with GM 2.5ton differentials, receiving a GM small-block V8 350 (in³). Mounts were soldered on, engine housing cut to fit. Engine itself was just factory block; everything else custom, from crankshaft to valves, with a nice, souped up GM transmission (auto) from a Heavy Duty Silverado/3500, fuel cell from an actual, mil-spec humvee (thus nearly bullet-proof, and self-sealing, don't ask how he got it). Estimated HP/Torque sits at just about 375bhp/550lb-ft (no dynamo test done, YET). Nice 7ton winch. Ground clearance, about 4ft+
It took ME a little reaching and swinging to get inside the cab. All done in beige for the body, black powder for chassis and roll cage, fire-engine-red engine block, chrome for every single engine fitting and extras, flat brushed steel skid plates, braided steel lines aaaaall over, jet-black rims. I think the reduced-gear starter alone has more hp than a SmartCar or Prius
Trail-head pr0n, that's what that is.
Caught the thing halfway done, so I missed the sparks of metal works, but had the chance to get grease-on-hands on engine and whatnot. It's running, now needs to be finished, i.e. have the shafts connected, fluid lines tested and body painted to the final coat. Can hardly wait for that to be painted and out of the slot, so I can start my XJ. In the mean time, I've been sold on the 2-3" lift. :giggles: >=)